Yes, I survived to my one week social media detox and today I’ll tell you everything about that!
Once upon a time when people were spending time with someone else, they were used to try to have some kind of conversation with each other.
Not today, not in the internet era.
We are in a busy restaurant.
It’s Saturday night,
A lot of couples are sitting all around me.
The majority of those people are not focused on their partners or on their food; they shine under a white, pale light flashing from their smartphones.
I’ve always been one of those people judging others for their wild use of technology, I’ve always been the one wondering what the hell has people to do on line 24/7; I’ve always tried to keep a balance between on line and off line, giving much more value and importance to things happening in my real life – the off line one.
Then one day I’ve realized I lost control of my social media use, I was spending way too much time on line, I was too focused on who was watching my Instagram stories or liking my pictures.
My relationship with social media was not healthy anymore, I was turning addicted to something that doesn’t even make me high.
When you arrive at the point when you give more attention to a shiny screen rather than to your friend-partner-mum is likely you can’t go further, it’s your wake up call, the alarm to make you realize you are doing wrong.
So I’ve decided to challenge myself with a one week social media detox which will include mainly Facebook and Instagram and I’ll try to use the precious time I usually waste browsing on Facebook Home or Instagram Explore to write articles for my blog.
One Week Social media detox Day 1
I woke up and, as usual, I grabbed my phone.
I’ve inspected it and then I’ve deleted Instagram, I’ve said no to any last minute sneaky looks.
Facebook was already off.
Personal issues made me realize I don’t want to have Facebook app on my phone; Messenger is something different, I need to have it for job reasons but since I’m on holiday for a week there won’t be any better opportunity to try.
Messenger off as well.
My phone was free from social media apps and even though I can’t delete WhatsApp – since I’m living in Australia and my mother could really freak out if I do something similar – I was satisfied.
I’ve spent all day feeling a mix of scepticism and new freedom about this social media free condition.
I know that people who really needs me can find me elsewhere and I don’t need to know what the people I follow had for breakfast or where they have spent their day.
I don’t need social media.
What they will think about my silence?
Does it really care?
What I’m going to say when I’ll be back on line?
Should I really say something? I have no obligation with social media.
One day is gone.
It was easy.
By the way I’ve done much more than I usually do, I’ve eaten and cooked more happily and I’ve surfed even if I didn’t post a picture of me doing that.
One Week Social media detox Day 2
Wake up. Phone.
Nothing to check.
No reason to waste 20 minutes of my morning browsing around. I read a couple of interesting articles and then I went to surf all morning.
One Week Social media detox Day 3-4-5-6-7
After day 3 being away from socials was kind of okay, kind of normal.
I didn’t have that stupid itch to check my phone every minute.
I wasn’t carry my phone around all the time, I was not checking it while stopping at the traffic light or while waiting for the train.
…and mostly I was not checking if people were watching my things.
I was definitively starting to feel better.
“I am all good guys, I’ve been off line for a while but I’m good.
I didn’t go to Bali and it has been the best decision I could ever make.
During that week I quit social completely, I’ve even deleted the apps from my phone, and the result has been amazing!
I’ve been doing much more things than I usually do when I waste my time on Instagram, I wrote a lot and I spent time with friends (sometimes on the phone, sometime live). I’m not ready to come back on line, not yet… open instagram hurts (maybe one day I’ll explain why).
I just want to tell you that I’m here and I want to thank you all for all your messages, I’ll try to keep this gallery alive. I can’t promise I’ll be here everyday… it would have been a lie…
I won’t be in my instagram STORIES for a while, I’ll just use this social as an attachment for the blog and to reply to your messages.
Maybe I’ll come back… (maybe when this stupid winter will end) please don’t abandon me… keep follow me on my blog (I’ve just started to publish in English as well ❤️)”
One Week Social media detox – week two, going back on line
On Monday morning of the 8th day I’ve downloaded Instagram app again and as soon as I had it on my phone I started feeling uncomfortable again.
I’ve uploaded a couple of stories to announce two new articles on my blog, I’ve replied to all the messages I’ve received in the past week and I’ve watched my gallery – again – going back to one year ago.
After few minutes I’ve deleted Instagram again.
I couldn’t even watch it.
It was making me feel guilty, guilty for what?! I don’t fucking know.
One Week Social media detox – how did everything start?
My social media path has been pretty curious.
When I was just a teenager I was posting fan fictions on writing forums and writing my thoughts on my space.
Before Facebook could appear in our lives I was already posting my pictures on Netlog and chatting with people from other cities on msn.
Then I started high school and Facebook was becoming a little more popular every day.
I’ve signed in, of course.
It was 2007, 11 years ago.
I’ve deleted my Facebook account in May 2011.
I’ve opened my first Instagram account in Jun 2011.
Then I’ve deleted my Instagram account in 2014.
For a little while I didn’t have any social media accounts.
Then in May 2014 I’ve opened my Travel Blog – the one you are reading now! – and I’ve soon figured out I needed social media accounts to promote my articles and share my travel contents live.
Now after more than four years spent on line with hundreds of hours of video contents, thousands of pictures and 500 articles uploaded, I’m a little bit concerned about the role that Internet and social media are playing in my life.
And that’s why my social media detox will keep going.
I’m going to use Instagram to keep my gallery alive and to share new blog’s articles on Instagram stories but I’ll keep myself out of the scene now on.
All of the above was the result of a natural process mixed up with life accidents, I didn’t put any effort on keeping myself away from socials.
I was using them compulsively just because they were always there, on my hand.
So now I’ll start a new personal era about social media use, a healthier way to approach to contents sharing and internet use that will also help me to:
- get out of the bed much faster
- walk around the city watching around me and not staring at my phone
- be focused on what I’m doing not on what other people are
- be much more productive
- listen to music understanding the lyrics (before I was often listening to music while browsing on social media)
- have more to talk about with people I know (can you realize how much things you know about your friends only because you saw those things on their stories?)
Check it out my latest english article “How to plan a trip to Cuba” as a proof of my quality time I spent on the internet during my detox week.